Wizards
by Machaeus
Summary: After barely saving Melli, Buwaro and Kieri need saving themselves. Their own rescue comes in the form of a young-looking man in blue robes – a member of the Order of Wizards. He's looking for more than just a fight, however – he's looking for an apprentice.


Chapter 1

Close Calls in St. Curtis

I do not own Slightly Damned, and never will. Starts at Comic 611.

Melli growled at the jakkai in front of her angrily. "Step aside, fool! Those two could be dangerous!" she half-shouted.

"Oh, don't worry about them," the heterochromatic jakkai smiled disarmingly. "I doubt they're as dangerous as me!" He then proceeded to whip out a dagger, cruelly cut, which Melli only barely dodged the worst of by instinct.

Shouting in pain at the shoulder wound, she stared at the crazy jakkai as people fled in fear, some screaming from the sudden violence. "You just made a huge mistake, buddy!" Melli snarled. "No mortal weapon can take me down – you don't know who you're messing with!"

It was then she noticed something unusual. _My wound...why isn't it healing like normal...?_ she thought, gripping her cut.

"On the contrary," the strange jakkai grinned cruelly. "I know _a lot_ about you...Melli the Fire Bee Guardian! Plus, I know," he laughed, "That you have no descendants...and that makes my job a lot easier!"

"Wha...what are you talking about?!" Melli murmured. She hadn't felt fear like this in a long time.

"The _real_ question here is...do _you_ know who _I_ am?" the jakkai grinned – a serpentine tongue and eyes of pure color now adorning his face.

Buwaro stopped, looking back. Kieri noticed he wasn't right behind her a moment later, and looked back as well. "She's not chasing us," Buwaro panted.

"What the - " Kieri murmured. It was then that she got a sinking feeling in her gut, hearing the screaming. "...we should go back," she said.

"What?" Buwaro asked. "Is something - " Then he heard it too. "...yeah, let's go back," he said, starting to hurry back with Kieri.

Melli groaned, her body heavily wounded. Moonshade grabbed her by the throat, forcing her to the ground and raising his dagger. "Any last words?" he grinned.

"...why?" Melli whimpered. "Why are you doing this?"

Moonshade grinned. He was honestly about to answer – he had the time. He had her right where he wanted her. He could have ended her life at any time.

Thus, he was surprised when his ass was literally kicked, and he sailed into the air, crashing headfirst into the damaged target at Melli's carnival game. "Because he's a jerk!" he heard – in a strangely familiar voice.

The voice that thanked him not a minute ago.

Melli stared up at the fire demon, confused. Why was the angel's pet actually helping her?

For that matter, why was said angel healing her wounds right now? "What the – why?" she asked.

"Because you're hurt," Kieri said. "Do I need another reason?"

"Considering you're a traitor by the looks of shit," Melli began.

Buwaro was almost instantly in her face. "If you _ever_ insult Snowy again, I just might throw you at him," he said. An empty threat, really, but he was pretty mad, and not very happy with everyone calling her that name...that Debbie-ball guy, this girl now...what did Snowy ever do to them?

Melli blinked. "Why so defensive?" Melli asked. "She's an angel, you're a demon. Pretty sure that means you should be trying to kill each other."

"Here he comes," Kieri said, interrupting the argument before it got worse. Drawing her sword, she grimaced at the jakkai, standing up with dagger drawn again.

"So, you actually came to her defense," he growled. "No matter. I'll kill all three of you for defying me." He lunged into action, and Kieri began to go through the parrying drill she once hated. With a _clang_, the dagger went flying into a branch, landing well out of reach of the moon-eyed jakkai. He lunged back, preparing a spell. Kieri put up a shield of frost to deflect the blast.

She wasn't expecting his flaming lance to pierce it, scrape her side, and keep going to impact the jakkai woman with its full force. The woman screamed, and Kieri faltered. That was all the jakkai needed. He charged up another spell, and Buwaro lunged in front of Kieri, figuring another fiery lance was headed her way.

He wasn't expecting lightning.

Staggering backwards into Kieri, Buwaro groaned in pain, slowly falling unconscious. "About damn time," the jakkai growled with a sickly grin. "Now, one traitor down – one target and one angel to go."

A twinge of realization went through Moonshade at that moment. He glanced to his left just in time to be sent flying again, this time by a sphere bursting with sheer force. He landed on his feet this time, at least, and snarled angrily at the human, dressed in blue robes with brilliant blue eyes and crimson hair. "I need to stop gloating when I'm winning," Moonshade muttered. Kieri, meanwhile, took the distraction as time to heal Buwaro.

"No," the young human said. "You need to be brought to justice.

"Jericho Moonshade, you are hereby under arrest for dark sorcery, at least seven accounts first degree murder, and attempted murder under premeditation," he announced loudly. "No amount of power-theft will protect you."

"Like Hell," Moonshade snarled, releasing a twin bolt of fire and lightning at the human. No mere mortal could survive this spell – he'd tested it a few times on pursuers.

The human didn't survive – indeed, the blast never hit him. It winked out of existence in the blink of an eye and a wave of the intended target's hand. "I studied my magic," the human elaborated, and chanted something in a strange tongue. Jericho realized the supernal power behind the words too late – and was instantly captured in a large sphere of force. "I studied well."

Jericho swallowed hard, realizing that he was way out-matched. He had to warn his fellows in the Hellion Army – the attack had to be called off. With that thought, he channeled his only quick spell he'd bothered to try putting together.

Within a second, he had teleported no less than thirty feet, to a rooftop. Snarling, the human prepared to fling another bolt of fire and force, but didn't succeed in time to stop the jakkai from teleporting away – to who knows where...

"Damnation," the human grunted. "I can't find him now..." _Not without outright scrying, and I don't have the time for that yet,_ he thought bitterly.

Kieri started, having watched the arcane battle with utter amazement. This human had more magical power backing him up than Denevol, if he could conjure spheres of force as cages, never mind the strange words he used – and did that jakkai teleport? "Unreal...!" she breathed.

Buwaro groaned at that moment, and Kieri hugged him close, worried. Her healing magic had saved his life, but he would still be a long time recovering, most likely.

Melli frowned. "You really care for him that much?" she asked.

Kieri grew silent, then glared at the jakkai woman. "Buwaro is the kindest person I've ever met," she began with heat. "When I first met him, I was defenseless due to a pair of demons putting these cuffs on me to suppress voice and magic. You know what he did? He _greeted_ me. He _introduced_ himself. And when he _learned_ that I was afraid of him because he was a demon, he _apologized_ and felt bad about it. He saved my _life_ once, nearly at the cost of his _own_. He is a better angel than some _angels_."

Melli's ears drooped and her stomach dropped out on her. "...what the Hell could have caused that in a demon?" she asked. The human stared at the arguing two.

"Growing up alone in an abandoned section of Hell after his parents were killed by raiding angels, and being raised by an angel for one year afterwards – until said angel was slain by a demon who thought _exactly_ what you did about his enemies." Kieri's voice was practically bubbling with anger.

"Calm yourself," the human said, his voice carrying a strange weight. Kieri forced herself to calm down, then looked away, ashamed of her tone. "Don't worry," he said. "You have no need to apologize for your anger. However," he continued, "Melli here does have to apologize for her calculated insult against you."

Kieri's blood ran cold. "M...Melli?" she breathed.

"Calculated – if you mean the finger puppet - " Melli began.

"_Toski_ finger puppet," the human stated. "If it hadn't been accompanied by 'considering the company you keep' or if it had been a different Guardian – perhaps one with more kindness in their heart – she wouldn't have blown up your stupid, rigged game."

"Rigged?" Kieri murmured, blinking.

"Yes," the human grunted. "Melli's carnival game was made for failure, just like any other." He snorted. "Personally, I see no reason to like a deity of any power level with a desire and willingness to trick people out of their money. Especially considering you were willing to insult her for her friend."

Melli winced. "I'm not a god, dumbass," she stated.

"You're close enough, aren't you?" the human snapped. "Guardian, demigod, I've heard the words interchanged without trouble...but that's not important. It's amazing that you were ever considered heroic with your attitude."

"Okay, that's it!" Melli snarled. "You can get mad at me, fine. But you don't piss on what I've done during the Great War, got it?"

The human simply stared at her. "I didn't introduce myself," he stated. "Isaac Palemoor, Wizard."

Melli backed up three steps in her flinch. "W-Wizard?" she stammered.

Kieri stared at the man. "So that's how you learned such magic," she realized. Wizards were magi of great power, supposedly an order founded during the start of the Great War to understand magic and better utilize it. To think someone this young was a Wizard!

"Indeed," Isaac stated. "As for what you've done during the Great War...well, we've known the demons for a while, their reasons for fighting. You do not. You assumed, as many have, that they were simply monsters bent on death and destruction." He turned away stiffly. "Come, young one. We are not welcome here in the darkness of ignorance."

Kieri was about to say something, but she didn't know what to say, so she closed her mouth and, with Isaac's help, picked Buwaro up to head back to the Sinclair's wagon.

"You fought what?" Tsavo said, his voice shaky.

"A wizard," Jericho spat. "I barely escaped...he seemed to want to take me alive."

"So what?" Azurai snarled. "Just because of that little shit we can't fuck up everyone here?"

"He stopped me from absorbing Melli's power," Jericho said calmly. "There is no reason to take untold casualties against those two...especially when, most likely, Meeros is here too, and we don't know _where_. Three Guardian-level enemies, Azurai – we'd be slaughtered."

"Then we retreat," Tsavo said, bitterness evident in his voice. "We have no choice...and he could find us at any time."

"So we're leaving fatass behind?" Azurai grinned. "Awesome. That oughta show the drunkard!" Tsavo glared at his ally before sighing, letting the issue drop.

Jericho felt a prickly feeling on his neck at that moment, that quickly vanished. "He already knows where we are," he shivered. "We have to leave now." Tsavo blinked, but didn't question him.

Isaac waited in the nearby jail the next morning. It was a shame that the owners of that bar had been killed. Judging by the way things had been done, their wounds were sloppily made – almost carelessly. Whoever did it enjoyed slaughter, and had demon claws. He glanced at the relatively tiny earth demon, stripped of the pendant and its holster. He was groaning in his cell, likely with the effects of the alcohol he was witnessed as drinking yesterday.

He hoped the two kids were okay...despite the announcement he'd scryed yesterday, there were still several demons left in the city. He hoped they were all peaceful, and not simply bluffing him.

He looked again to the earth demon before him. He quickly unlocked the cell, stepped inside, and tossed the keys out the door before closing it behind himself. It locked automatically. "Good morning," he stated calmly.

The earth demon flinched to full awakeness. "Who – what the hell?" he grunted.

"Your allies abandoned you," Isaac stated. "I showed Jericho the door yesterday, stopped him from consuming Melli's power, and so they decided to skip town."

The demon growled angrily. "Bullshit."

"I can prove it if you like, 'fatass'," he said. The demon flinched. "I scryed on their meeting yesterday. The orange-and-black one called you that." The demon's ears drooped, and he seemed to be fearful. "I mean no harm, on the condition that you can restrain yourself from attacking any locals. No one ever knew about the potential attack – however, everyone seems to know about your Moonshade friend now."

"Locals, fine," the demon snorted. "I suppose you mean angels too, though."

"Any who mean you harm will be dealt with by law enforcement, as the Suizahn boy was," Isaac replied. "He apparently collapsed a mountain pass and was arrested for it." The demon's eyes bugged out of his head. "I was surprised too. Seems St. Curtis is honest about trying to be peaceful and open-armed.

"Now, I didn't get your name," he said, waiting for an answer.

"...Iratu," the earth demon stated.

"Well, Iratu," Isaac said, "I hope we can come to an accord today. Perhaps I can give you back the pendant you were given."

Iratu grimaced. "It was a war trophy," he said with a bit of heat.

"That's not what the diary said," Isaac replied.

"...diary?" Iratu asked.

It was about mid-afternoon when Buwaro woke up again. "Good afternoon," Isaac stated as he heard Buwaro groaning.

The fire demon slowly sat up. "What's going on?" he asked thickly. "Is...is everyone okay?"

"Yes," Isaac stated. "Including your brother. We need to talk to him."

Buwaro blinked several times. "Iratu...Iratu is up here?" he asked.

"Yes," Isaac replied. He decided not to inform the boy of his brother's rank in the Hellion Army – he didn't need to drive a wedge between the two. "He seems to have no memory of Darius, though."

Buwaro blinked. "...did you...read that...?" he asked.

"Yes," Isaac stated. "And I haven't told anyone. Rhea and Kieri knew already, so I talked with them privately, but..." He grimaced. "We need to tell him what's going on. He seems to think Darius was an enemy that nearly killed him..."

Buwaro's ears drooped. "...why?" he asked. "Why would he think that?"

"I have a guess," Isaac stated with a grimace. "I hope it isn't true, though..."

"Why?" Buwaro asked.

"Because my guess means that there are powerful forces levied against us," Isaac said. "Traitorous Wizards."

"...what's a Wizard?" Buwaro asked.

Isaac sighed softly. "Wizards are those of us who study the power of magic and learn deeper secrets," he began. "We're an order that was founded during the start of the Great War, in order to protect the common folk. We eventually discovered that the war could have been avoided, and dropped out of it for the most part. People, though, are afraid now, and it will be difficult at best to convince the whole world of this after many centuries of battle and propaganda.

"In any case, there are things we need to do. First of all, find out what your brother thinks of the truth. Then, determine what he remembers and why. Finally, we need to teach you a few things."

Buwaro blinked. "Like what?" he asked.

"Well," Isaac said slowly, "You have potential as a Wizard. I would like to take you on as an apprentice."


End file.
